The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1887-02-19
The life of Judge Leland, like that Of his

| The lie OF JunBe Lelhhu ihe 'u"' VI "'e
father has been devoted almost entirely TO
the practice of the law and the performance
of ia ilei, dupies. The advice OF his father
to him when he left tor the West was not "a
mix with the practice of the law the seeking
for political prefer Ient but to postpone the
later ill he mad acquiredac mperency, ani
10 attend TO il then, m net before, IL he fell
so in lined. Thus far the inclination has
not become strong enough, and it is too late
| ia life now 10 ex Ject that 1t ever will. ~
much more OF The kind OF competency men
toned being necessary now than when the
adsi was .iveu, may be an additional rea.
son He su, PEGS, however, the true reason
may be that he has no taste for sucn things.
Shortly before Lovejoy was first elected he
called upon Judge Leland and said to him
that if he des red to become candidate he
Lovejoy) would not be one Judge Leland
said to HIM that he had no desire for such "A
position and this, he would he happy TO as.
sist him if he had.
As q believer in the equal rights of his
fellow men, and as an uncompromsing oppo.
nent to the institution Of human slavery,
Judge Leland took an active part in the
formation Of the republican party in this
state, and drafted series Of resolutions, in
one of which the party was named, which
resolutions were adopted at mass meeting
hel at OTTAWA on August LIST, A, d. 1904
AS a full account Of the formation of the
party, and Of the declaration OF its prnci.
pies, with the names Of those who took nc.
i've part. can be found in the history of the
county published last year. at p. 26l of the
LIST vol, IL is unnecessary to say anything
farther here. Ii may not be out Of place 10
say in this connection thai his only Two sons,
George NJ. and Sherman, enlisted az soldiers
in the war Of the rebellion, and that, Of
course, they fought on the anti slavery side,
serving about three years each.
Judge Leland never sought to be elected
10 any office as member Of the party. He
was, however, undoubtedly once voted for
BY the party generally and elected as Mayor
of Ottawa. He has also been a member Of
the Board OF Education of the city, and
national committee which called the conven.
ton at which Fremont was nominated for
President Of the United States.
While on the Board Of Education, he and
his brother members managed to build sew
eral of the school buildings now In use, but
the obstacles and difficulties then in their
way cannot we'll be appreciated now. lie
has also in other ways contributed to the
growth Of Ottawa by his efforts, though, as
is usually the case, the leading motive may
have been self-interest He believes that
the erection Of the bridge across the feeder
near its junction with the canal, and Of the
one now located across the canal on Chestnut
street, was in great measure the result OF
his efforts and that without such efforts they
would not have been built until much later
date, if at all. He sold, to be used for that
purpose. The land upon which the manuiac-
tory Of King & Hamilton is now located also
that where the Ottawa Glass Works now are,
chimneys is carried on by Chappelle Co.
In the case Of the Ottawa Glass Co., on Jan,
10Th, 1868, he conveyed to it Block TO- of the
States Addition, and Lots and in Block
:, North Ottawa, and paid three hundred
dollars in money, and received two certlti,
Gates Of stock to the amount of five hu ndred
dollars each--one for himself, and one for
his brother william, since deceased, who
owned one half the land and contributed one
half the money. The stock certificates now
held are signed by J. D. Cation, president,
and 7. d. Catlin, secretary, and bear date
Aug 5th, 1873. Buildings of the company
we're built on the land sold. No dividend
has ever been paid on this 81 900 worth of
stock, and thus far the investment has been
q dead loss. 1t would, therefore, seem that
during these many years the business of the
company has been transacted without any
profits IL this be so, the public should be
grateful to the directors and managers OF the
company for the indomitable energy and
perseverance with which they have carried
on the business under such adverse circum-
stances, because, though of no benefit to the
stockholders, it certainly has contributed to
the growth and prosperity of the city.
Many amusing and humorous incidents,
happening during Judge Lelan Is practice
and while he held court, and many droll and
witty things said by his brethren Of the bar,
might be added TO this sketch, but it is al
ready too long to be made longer merely for
fun.
Upon looking back over his past life, he
has the satisfaction Of knowing that he has
according TO the best Of his ability fully dis
charged his duty while acting for the public,
and that he has always during his practice
as lawyer been true to the interests of the
many clients who have placed their conf
dence in him. He has no opinion to express
as to the ability with which these duties
have been performed. OF this others must
Judge from their own observation and ex-
perence, or other appropriate information.
lie also feels that in his business transac-
tons with his fellow men he has endeav-
ored to deal with them fairly and justly,
and he hopes that be may have always
succeeded in so doing.